The evolution of automated photo slideshow type presentations on personal computers, projected displays, and entertainment devices has become increasingly common as users amass large collections of digital images. A number of the methods used to display these slideshow type presentations incorporate some form of animation such as panning around on an image or moving an image within a viewing region in an attempt to make the presentation more interesting. Some forms of this type of animation are commonly known as “auto-rostruming” or the “Ken Burns effect.”
Currently such automated applications of image movement or panning are fairly crude and typically applied in a random fashion. Sometimes this random application of movement and panning may generate an acceptable or interesting result, such as when an image of a tall building is randomly panned up or down to show the profile of the building in the same manner that human eyes would normally scan an actual tall building. However, current automated animation methods are just as likely (and often more likely) to produce a movement or panning animation that is not acceptable and instead detracts from an image or images being displayed in a slideshow type presentation.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.